Rig Expert AA-170 Review

5stars

Rig Expert AA-170 Review

Street Price: $399

Emory, WM3M, reviews the Rig Expert AA-170 antenna analyzer

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1 User reviews

5stars


Editors rating

  • Build quality
  • Ease-of-use
  • Features
  • Battery life
  • Ergonomics
  • Durability

Street Price: $399

If you want an easy way to test your antennas, in several areas, the Rig Expert AA-170  antenna analyzer is a good choice.  Its frequency range of 0.1 to 170 MHz covers a large number of the Ham radio bands.  It is portable, runs on 3 AA batteries, fits in your hand well, and is about the size of a larger HT.  The screen is easy to read and built-in help documents are always at hand. The USB port gives added capabilities when connected to a PC.

I have been a Ham for 30 years, but this is the first antenna analyzer I have used.  I never really thought I needed one, until I started using the AA-170 for this review.  In a matter of seconds you get various readings on your antennas.  This unit really shines when used for a mobile installation.  In today’s modern vehicles, finding a good place to mount an antenna is not easy, which sometimes leads to a compromised installation.  Installing an FT-857D in my Honda Ridgeline was a good example.  The only way to get cables inside was to drill holes, so for 2 meters I went with an on-glass antenna on the rear window.  Until now, I could never get this antenna tuned correctly but with the AA-170 it took me about 5 minutes to get near 1 to 1.

If all of your antennas are resonant and you don’t use a tuner, then you might not need the AA-170.  Even then, getting the antenna tuned to the frequencies you use, only takes minutes and it can be done right where the antenna is installed.  With a frequency range of 0.1 to 170 MHz, multi-band antennas can be tested showing the entire range of most antennas in one easy to-read graph.  If you do any antenna experimenting, use long wires or other types of multi-band antennas, this unit is very useful.  I use several multi-band antennas — one is a double-size G5RV with coverage from 160 to 6 meters.  The SWR range display graph clearly showed SWR highs and lows for all these bands.

The AA-170’s antenna connection is an SO-239 connecter and its output power is about minus 10 dBm at 50 ohms. SWR range is 1 to 10, with a resolution of 1 kHz.  It will work on 50 and 75 Ohm antennas.

With a desktop PC running Windows 7, the software and drivers were easy to install.  The graphs are much more detailed on the PC screen.  When doing a frequency range graph, the mouse pointer will show the measurements anywhere on the graph.  There are multiple modes: SWR mode, Multi SWR mode, and show-all mode.  Show-all displays SWR, return loss, magnitude of impedance, active and reactive components, and values of inductance or capacitance. The graph modes display the previous modes in various types of graphs, on the unit and a PC.  The AA-170 can also be used to test your coax lines.  It will test for open and short cables, cable length, velocity factor measurements, and cable fault location.  You can use it for making coax stubs, and characteristic impedance of cables.  Finally it can be used for measuring capacitors, inductors, transformers, traps, and even as an RF signal generator.

–Emory Haines, WM3M

Conclusion Rating
It is well made, easy to use and a very handy tool to have.  The Rig Expert AA-170 is loaded with valuable features and is competitively priced.
5 stars

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